2006 Year in Review: TV

Share.

From Heroes to Battlestar Galactica to Deadwood and beyond, we look at 2006 in the world of television.

By Eric Goldman, Dan Iverson & Brian Zoromski

Welcome to IGN TV's Year in Review for 2006. IGN TV didn't actually hit the Web until May of this year but for our inaugural Year in Review feature we'll be covering the entire year of 2006 -- from 24's fifth season debut to the various fall finales.

As 2006 ends, things are winding down at the IGN offices as we take off for the holidays -- today (Friday, Dec. 22) is IGN TV's last publish of the year. We'll be back with our regular updates on Tuesday, January 2. Until then, please enjoy our 2006 Year in Review!

State of TV2006 saw the rise and, sadly, the decline of serialized dramas on television. Within the same year anticipation and ratings grew for such series as 24, Lost and Prison Break, only to see ratings for most heavily serialized shows drop as the '06-'07 season began, with both Lost and Prison Break struggling to retain the ratings of last season. The popularity of high concept serials like 24 and Prison Break prompted the networks to develop various new series for the fall '06 season, including Day Break, Vanished, and Kidnapped (all three of which ended up being cancelled by ABC, FOX, and NBC before their 13-episode seasons had aired -- and story arcs had been resolved).

Those cancelled serialized dramas now thankfully have a chance to get their remaining episodes out to the public, thanks to another trend of 2006: television networks embracing the Internet. Over the course of the year, all of the broadcast networks (and many cable networks) began offering shows for either as purchased downloads (usually on Apple's iTunes) or streaming for free. Fans of many shows that were cancelled before all of their episodes aired were finally offered a chance to see to see the unaired episodes for free, instead of waiting and hoping for an eventual DVD release of the series.

It wasn't all low ratings and cancellations for new serialized dramas in 2006 -- a handful of new series did well enough to garner full-season pick-ups from the networks, including Jericho, Friday Night Lights, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. There was even one new fall '06 drama that's become a breakout hit: NBC's superhero series Heroes. The catchy ad campaign ("Save the cheerleader. Save the world."), well-written characters and intriguing stories made the series popular to comic book geeks and the general public alike.

Drama fans were safer from cancellation woes on the cable networks. While CBS canned Ray Liotta's Smith after airing just three episodes, more patient networks like Showtime allowed freshman series Brotherhood and Dexter a full season to find an audience. Cable also continued to be the section of your listings to head to if you wanted edgy serial programming, with new seasons of The Sopranos, The Shield, The Wire, Battlestar Galactica and Weeds all portraying characters and stories one doesn't find on broadcast television. Even the best cable dramas weren't completely safe from the axe, however, as 2006 saw Deadwood get cancelled just before season three began airing on HBO. A deal was soon announced for a pair of two-hour specials that will wrap up the series.

A reality series was one fledgling network's only real hit. America's Next Top Model was the main ratings-getter for The CW, which launched in Fall 2006 as the first new broadcast network in 11 years. A combination of The WB and UPN, The CW started the season with what many viewed as the best series from both networks and expectations were high that the ratings for many of their shows would increase with the merger. Unfortunately, Top Model has been The CW's sole performer over last year, and their one new drama, the serialized thriller Runaway, was soon cancelled due to low ratings.

2006 was a great year for comedy, with single-camera series such as The Office, How I Met Your Mother, My Name Is Earl, and Everybody Hates Chris hitting their strides as traditional, multi-camera comedies were diminishing in both number and popularity (one exception being CBS's Two and a Half Men, which consistently posts strong ratings in its fourth season). Ironically, the critically acclaimed show that started off the single-camera comedy trend, Arrested Development, was cancelled in 2006, ending its three-season run with a four-episode marathon in February.

Overall 2006 was a great year for television fans, with tons of great programming available year-round, and plenty of options for people to watch their favorite shows, from recording on TiVos and other DVRs, buying episodes on services like iTunes, and watching free streaming versions on the networks' websites. With more and more shows becoming available online, TV fans may never have to worry about missing an episode.